UFC on FOX: Is Junior Dos Santos the Future of MMA?

It was estimated that 60 million Brazilian fans watched last night’s fight between Cain Velasquez and Junior Dos Santos, where Dos Santos walked away with the UFC heavyweight title around his waist.

This fight was huge for the future of the UFC’s growth world wide, but it may have been even bigger for the growth of MMA in Brazil, as now three of the seven UFC champions now call Brazil home.

As Dana White said at the post-fight press conference “Brazil is the new Canada” as far as the sport's growing popularity, and it doesn’t seem implausible that the fighters in Brazil will soon become superstars in South America.

While Junior Dos Santos doesn’t have the natural charisma that typical US fans seem to enjoy, he is incredibly likeable and has gained a lot of fans since his stint on The Ultimate Fighter 13 earlier this year.

Dos Santos has a tremendous story that resonates well with fight fans around the world and it has become pretty clear that he has become a fan favorite over his last few fights.

As popular as Chuck Liddell was during his run through the light heavyweight division with his sprawl and brawl style, Dos Santos could easily replicate that and become must see TV every time he fights.

While calling Dos Santos the future of MMA seems a little premature at the moment he could easily get there with a few more wins.

If he draws Brock Lesnar for his next fight and defeats him in convincing fashion, he will officially get the attention of the American public and he is already well on his way to becoming one of the most popular fighters in the sport.